Concrete-block-making machine.



G. W. KRAMER.

CONCRETE BLOCK MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, l9l2. LAMWQB. Patented Dec.21,1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I- FIG.2..

FIG. I.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR COLUMBIA PLANOGRAIH to. WASHINGTON. n. c.

G. W. KRAMER.

CONCRETE BLOCK MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATHJN FILED MAY 8,1912. L16%fi@fi Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- FIG.4.

INVENTOR cnLUMnlA PLANOURAPH COUWASHING'PON. D. C.

enonsn w. KRAMER, or rnonm, rumors.

CONCRETE-BLOCK-MAKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 211, 19315.

Application filed May a, 1912. Serial no. 695,817.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. KRAMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Concrete-Blocklt faking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in concrete block making machines and particularly to that type of tamping machine which'utilizes a series or plurality of tamping devices such as illustrated in my prior patents issued January 17th, 1911, and numbered 981,928 and 981,929.

My invention has for its principal object the simplification of the construction and operation of the machine, which is accomplished by the reduction of the number of the operating parts.

Another object of this invention is the improvement of the various details of the machine, such as the tamping heads, the automatic stop mechanism and the locking 1 means for preventing the movable frame from dropping when it is in its raised posi tion.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear my invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts and details hereinafter described and then sought to be defined in the appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, which disclose a preferred embodiment of my invention merely v for the purpose of illustration, it being understood that various changes in the construction and arrangement of parts and details may be made within the scope of the claims without digressing from my inventive idea.

In the drawings:Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my device assembled, parts being broken away and shown in section for the purpose of making a better disclosure. Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking in the right hand end of the machine. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the tampers and its connections, parts being shown in vertical section. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the main driving pulley. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are detail views.

In the embodiment of my invention herein illustrated I show a main shaft in which a carriage is slidably mounted, said carriage supporting a series or plurality of tampers which are mounted on a shaft to be rapidly reciprocated, said shaft also having mounted thereon the winding spool and the actuating means for winding up the flexible connec tion whereby the sliding carriage is raised, the shaft for driving the tampers and the winding spool being one and the same, and having an extensible connection with the main 1 driving pulley which is mounted on the main frame of the machine. This pulley has a frictional connection with said shaft, which connection is automatically broken when the carriage reaches the upward limit of its path of movement. At the same time a locking means is automatically actuated which will lock the shaft against rotation and prevent any movement of the shaft until the locking means is released.

Referring now to the drawings, the main frame which is made preferably of angleiron includes the vertical members 1, which are arranged in pairs, each pair being connected by the cross piece 2 at the bottom and at the top by the members 8. The bracing members 4 are provided in the rear of the machine, running from the bottom members 2, to the upper portions of the rear vertical members 1.

Mounted to slide in the frame on the faces of the vertical members 1 thereof, is the sliding carriage or tamper support 5, which comprises the upper and lower pairs of supporting members 6 and7, which are connected by the vertically extending side members 8, which are removed a slight distance from the extremities of said members 6 and 7, as shown in Fig. 9 so that the outer faces 10 are positioned opposite the inner faces 11 of the vertical side members of the main frame. Suitable diagonal braces 12 are provided connecting members 6, 7 and 8. The intermediate vertical members 13 are provided between the members 6 and 7, which members support the operating shaft 1 1, the outer end of which is journaled in the bearing 15 formed in the lower end of bracket 16, which is bolted to the upper members 6 of the slidable frame, collars 17 and 18 being provided and secured to said shaft to properly position it. The other end of the shaft 1 1 is provided with a forked member 19 which embraces a block 20, a'bolt 21 passing through the extremities of the fork and said block, which block is pivoted by means of bolt 22 in the forked member 23, thus providing a universal joint. This member 23 is secured to the sleeve 24 having square or other polygonal bore in which slidably fits the correspondingly shaped shaft 25. The other end of this shaft 25 is connected by means of a similar universal joint 26 to the short stud shaft 27 which is journaled in the bracket 28, which has the horizontal portions 29 secured to the side members 1 of the frame and has the verticalportion 30 having the apertured lug 31. The shaft 27 bears in the extended sleeve 32 which is formed on said bracket 28 and on which is slidably mounted the extended hub or. boss 33 of the main driving pulley 34. This hub or boss is provided with the elongated circular abutment 35 having a groove 36 formed therein, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. A shorter sleeve or boss extends from the front of said pulley but falls short of the end of the sleeve 32 as shown in Fig. 4. The inner face 38 of said driving pulley is inclined so as to provide a 'frusto-conical bearing surface on which is placed the friction material 39. The driven pulley 40 has its bearing surface 41 inclined so as to fit said frictioned surface and is-provided with the extended hub or sleeve 42 which is secured to the shaft 27 byimeans of a key or otherwise. As the driv- I ing'pulley 34 is slidable on shaft 27 it is 0bvious that when the driven pulley 40 is not in engagement with the friction surface 39 the shaft will not be driven, but when the pulley 34 is moved outwardly a sufiicient distance, the pulley 40 will be driven by frictional engagement, thus driving .the shaft 27to which it is keyed.

The means for moving the pulley 34 will now be described. It comprises the lever 42 which is pivoted as at 43 to the apertured l-ug31 said lever terminating at its lower end in the fork 44, the bifurcated extremities 45 of which engage the pins or projections 46 formed on the sections 47, which are bolted together as at 48 to form the ring 49 which fits in the groove 36. This lever 42 is provided with a horizontal portion 50 and the upward extending portion 51 to the end of which is connected the spring 52,

' the other end of which spring is attached to the frame member 53. This spring normally tends to move the lever on its pivot 43 so as to withdraw the pulley 34 from en- 'gagement with pulley 40. To the horizontal portion 50is connected the link 54 shown in detail in Fig. 6, the lower end of which is connected to spring 55 which is attached to the lever 56 pivoted to the frame at 57 and having the pawl portion 58 adapted to engage in the toothed segment 59. When this lever 56 is released from engagement with the segment the pulley 34 will be withdrawn from engagement with the pulley 40 by means of the spring 52 acting on the lever. However, when the lever 56 is moved downwardly and held in that position by means of its pawl engaging the segment, the lever 42 will be swung on its pivot so as to force the pulley 34 into engagement with the pulley 40 and thus cause the latter to rotate the shaft 27 To the upwardly extending part 5]. of said lever is connected the arm 60 which extends in toward the center of the machine and is normally held in the support and guide 61. This arm 60 is adapted to be moved when the carriage reaches the upper limit of its path of movement so as to automatically withdraw the pulley 34 from engagement with the pulley 40, and to that end I provide on the sliding tamper support or carriage the spring member 62, the upper end of which is curved as at 63 so as to slide on the end of the arm 60. This spring 62 is attached to the pawl or dog member 63' which is pivoted at 64 to the intermediate member 13 of the sliding frame so as to be normally withdrawn from engagement with the ratchet wheel 65, a suitable guide or supporting loop 66 being provided to limit its movement. The ratchet wheel is attached to shaft 14 and when the carraige reaches the upper limit in its path of movement the spring 62 contacting with the end of the arm 60 is forced over so as to move the pawl or dog 63 into engagement with its ratchet wheel to prevent any backward rotation of shaft 14 and at the same time exerts suflicient pressure to move the lever 42 on its pivot 43 so as to withdraw the pulley 34 from engagement with the pulley 40.

The means for lifting and controlling the movement of the tamper support or carriage will now be described.

Mounted on the main frame are the pulleys 67 and on the tamper support or carriage is the pulley 68 over which runs the flexible connection 69 preferably a chain, which is secured at one end to the tamper support or carriage, as at 70. The other end of the chain 69 is fastened to and adapted to wind upon the spool or drum 71, which 1 is mounted on the shaft 14 and operated by the following means, and in the manner to be described: The friction disk 72 is secured to the shaft 14 by pin 73. Another friction disk- 74 is slidably secured on the shaft 14 near its outer end. Placed in juxtaposition to these friction disks are the disks 75 and 76, each having a. facing of suitable friction material. These last mentioned disks have the extended hub 77, the inner part of which is cut away as at 78 to receive the end of an elongated sleeve 79, a lug 80 being provided on the hub to enter a slot or recess 81 in the sleeve and prevent relative movement between the parts. The

This plate 113 is provided with a slot to permit the proper movement of the operating rod or member 98. This structure provides tamping members which will produce the best results in operation, eliminating as much of the jar as possible in both directions, thus forming an eificient shock absorber. As the springs are put in the socket under tension, they form a connection which is compensating, that is, one in which any wear will be taken up by the expansion of the springs tending to resume their normal condition. This form of connection eliminates to a large degree certain disadvantageous features of machines of this character which utilize a stationary connection between the rod and the tamping member.

By having the frame and various other parts of the machine made of angle-iron the requisite strength and reinforcement is obtained with as few parts as possible. By having the winding drum mounted on'and operated by the main shaft of the machine that also operates the eccentrics to reciprocate the tampers, which shaft is carried in the tamper support or carriage, the structure is reduced to its simplest form rendering its manufacture much cheaper and its operation much simpler than prior devices. There are fewer parts to get out of order and to assemble. The various automatic stop, locking and braking devices work efficiently to give the operator of the machine perfect control thereof with a minimum chance of accident or mishap.

Copiesof this patent may be obtained for What I claim is 2- 1. In a device of the character described, a tamper including a body portion and a head portion, said body portion being provided with an elongated socket, an operating rod loosely fitting in said socket, means for operating said rod and springs in said socket in contact with said tamper body and said rod, one spring being below the extremity of the rod and the other spring being between the extremity of the rod and the top of the tamper body, said body being formed with additional sockets and guiding means slidably fitting in said sockets.

2. In a device of the character described, a tamper including a body portion and a head portion, said body portion being formed with a socket which is flared in its upper portion, an operating rod having a disk or washer on its lower portion and fitting in said socket, a spring positioned in said socket between said disk or washer and the inner end of said socket, and another spring surrounding said rod between said disk or washer and the upper end of said socket, said last mentioned spring being shaped to conform to the flared portion of the socket.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE V. KRAMER. Witnesses GEORGE T. BEAN, FANNYE E. KonnN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

